Ugh What to do?

[scorpio01169]

I had a guy ask me to record his band a month ago, so I gave him my price and said he and his band are willing to pay that. So skip to last night, he calls me saying they are ready to record. I ask him to send me a demo of a song they wanna record and I'll layout the click track and tempo changes if any. He directs me to his Facebook page to listen to the song from a youtube video they did. OMG absomuthfuckinglutly horrible!!!! I don't need the money that bad and don't know if I cans sit through this horrible orchestra of shit, but I hate that I said I would do it and don't wanna be known as a flake.

 

[KHE]

if you dont like the music, don't do it. live is too short!

 

[~BURNY~]

Be honest. Tell them their music need a lot of work and you'd feel dishonest saying otherwise and taking their money. Been there, done that.
Either they are normal people and they'll be slightly upset but appreciative of your honesty or they are douchebags and you saved a lot of time and energy for something else.

 

[Kellii]

Unfortunately now I'm afraid you may have to record them since they know you have the booking free and you have already showed interest prior to hearing their demo. You could fake a double booking but you might still run the risk of being called a flake.

Never know though they may surprise you during recording and you might eventually enjoy it.

Next time though maybe ask for a demo upfront either before or as soon as you give them your rates. Then if you don't like their music you can politely decline.

 

[Heabow]

Be honest. Tell them their music need a lot of work and you'd feel dishonest saying otherwise and taking their money.

This. After that, either you do the job but you know what it will give at the end or you refund the booking fee and give some advices to how they can sound better and maybe you can kindly invite them to contact you in a few months.

 

[scorpio01169]

Thanks guys....I think I'm gonna tell them I'm booked. Yeah I should have listened to the demo before I agreed to record them.

 

[JeffTD]

Unfortunately now I'm afraid you may have to record them since they know you have the booking free and you have already showed interest prior to hearing their demo. You could fake a double booking but you might still run the risk of being called a flake.

Never know though they may surprise you during recording and you might eventually enjoy it.

This is a great way to wind up hating your job/life/self.

 

[Plendakor]

It's your fucking job to make them sound great, twit.

 

[Terminus]

Uh...no, it's not. Really hope that's a joke.

All in all, I'd probably take the gig just for the challenge slash headache heh.

 

[mstone564]

Say you only work on music that you really dig and tell them you weren't that into it. If they ask why just say that you won't be motivated enough which will make the mix suffer.

Also, you should post their Facebook page haha

 

[scorpio01169]

It's your fucking job to make them sound great, twit.

In order for me to make them sound great is to play all the parts for them. And it's not my job to make them sound great, it's my job to capture their sound.
Can't polish a turd!!!
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[Kellii]

This is a great way to wind up hating your job/life/self.

Only if you do it constantly.

 

[Jordon]

This is a great way to wind up hating your job/life/self.

Exactly, 100% spot-on.

It's your fucking job to make them sound great, twit.

Nope, not if they weren't already booked. And nope, it's not his job to take an apparently shit/subpar band and make them good. Shit in = shit out, doesn't matter how good the producer is...Unless he participates heavily in the songwriting, hires studio musicians, and so forth.


Dude, cut them lose. If you needed the money, then I'd say give it some serious thought. If you need the experience, then, again, give it some serious thought. If you need neither, or do not think that they will benefit you in the long run (or the other way around), then bow out. Be honest, but to a point. Saying something like "I'm sorry guys, I'm not confidant that I'm a good fit for your band," won't necessarily be a dishonest/inaccurate thing to say, and will save you the trouble of lying to a potential future client, etc, etc. If you approach it properly, you can do it without offending them, while saving yourself a potential headache or having to deal with an unenjoyable project.

Be honest. Tell them their music need a lot of work and you'd feel dishonest saying otherwise and taking their money. Been there, done that.
Either they are normal people and they'll be slightly upset but appreciative of your honesty or they are douchebags and you saved a lot of time and energy for something else.

Or this.

Just my $.02

 

[Drummerrrrr?]

Do pre-production instead.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Be honest. Tell them their music need a lot of work and you'd feel dishonest saying otherwise and taking their money. Been there, done that.
Either they are normal people and they'll be slightly upset but appreciative of your honesty or they are douchebags and you saved a lot of time and energy for something else.

Spot on. I was once asked for a quote by an artist I knew was nowhere near recording level. Instead of telling so politely and helpfully, I thought I was pretty clever to give the artist such an outrageous quote it would never be accepted.

Yeah, you guess the rest. I still feel horrible for that one, not worth the money.

 

[scorpio01169]

Well what I ended up doing is passing the work to a friend who needed the money. So it all worked out.